


One Thing After Another

by emeraldwitch9



Category: Kylo Ren - Fandom, Rey - Fandom, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Bisexual!Rey, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kylo is not very present during this fic, Kylux (briefly), M/M, Meeting at a Party, Miscommunication, Multi, Partying, Reylo - Freeform, Sex on the Beach, Slow Burn, Stormpilot, bisexual!Ben, eventually a wedding!, it is mostly Rey and Ben, musical trivia, shy Ben, wedding fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 09:42:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8367550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldwitch9/pseuds/emeraldwitch9
Summary: Ben Solo is dragged to his friend's year-end party and it could not be a worse time. He's getting over a break-up and a party was not the best thing to help him forget and finally be ready to socialize once more. But he decides to bite the bullet and go. There he meets a young girl named Rey who is just drifting through the party and through life. They attempt to become friends but will it lead to something maybe a little more interesting?





	1. The Party

It was a slightly chilly Friday evening when Ben Solo decided to leave his house willingly for the first time in weeks. I mean, you had to go to work. There was nothing you could do about that. But this would be the first time he left his house for something other than serving his eight hours daily at the local grocery store. Bills had to be paid and he knew he definitely couldn't rely on his parents as much as he once had. He knew a year-end party was undoubtedly going to be a thing for Finn to host; Ben was just hoping that it wouldn't be scheduled so soon after...  
He glanced up to look at the clock and realized he should probably skedaddle if he were to make it before all the liquor had been scooped up. Liquor was something he had not been dry of in the last little while, that was for sure. But more was not going to be rejected either. He zipped up his brown leather jacket and walked out into the breezy autumn twilight. 

His hair swooped and swirled in the light wind as he began walk the seven blocks to Finn's house. Finn had been his friend for years and probably knew him better than anyone. He knew that Ben had liked to dabble in the drama and tonight he would probably continue doing just that. But could Ben really be blamed for doing it? He had just suffered probably his worst break up which had left him with a half-empty apartment, half a record collection, two less pillows on his bed; and an empty feeling that ground deep into his bones and his gut that he knew would take more time to fill-despite how many delicious ice cream sandwiches and burgers he shoved into said gut to forget about it. Yeah those weren't things he was going to regret. No way...  
I gotta stop thinking about him. Just remember all the shit he put you through. All the manipulations.  
"Fuck," he murmured, suddenly getting a huge rush of dread, that bubbled uncomfortably in his stomach; almost giving him the sensation that he was about to throw up. Maybe I shouldn't go...  
But Finn was counting on him to be there. He had been deprived of his best friend for too long and while Ben was dealing with his own shit he knew it was the right thing to do. That and he wasn't able to afford to get hammered in the comfort of his own home. But chiefly because he did want to see Finn. He hadn't heard too many of the details surrounding the break up and he knew that Ben would tell him when he was ready.  
Was he ready now?  
Well, yes and no. The unwashed pillow cases and sheets still oozed with the sweet scent of his cologne yet he postponed washing them... the flowers he had brought Ben on his birthday were now dried up and almost rotted away but Ben had not thrown them away. So many little itty bitty things in that apartment reminded him of Hux. Ben shuddered, almost saying the name out loud. He hadn't said it out loud in weeks... It was a coarse, ragged name that congealed into spit in Ben's mouth just thinking about saying it.  
The man he had loved for so long... the man he trusted with everything was gone. Just gone.  
'Whoah-kay, I'm definitely gonna have to dial it back a bit when I get to the party', Ben thought. 

"Ben motherfucking Solo!!!" Finn cried, rushing down the stairs to the front door where Ben was just removing his jacket. "Oh my god you're alive! I actually thought I would never see you out in the sunlight again! Well, er, moonlight I suppose would be more fitting. Anyways, come! Let's get a drink and we're gonna have a long talk, ok?"  
Ben felt a smile creep onto his face. He realized just then why he continued to share in Finn's company. It was the sheer kindness and invasive positive energy that shot out from every which-way. Finn was a people-person; a talkative, suave individual who had everything they could possibly want out of life: a good home, fantastic friends and a cat. And he was a very beautiful cat at that.  
They turned out from the main hallway where many people had congregated to talk, and right into the exquisite blue kitchen. Solo cups were strewn along the cluttered counter-tops along with the various liquor vessels of many shapes and sizes. The remnants of three pizzas sat depressingly in the middle of the table, already mostly devoured and Ben began to feel a little more bummed out at having missed the chance to enjoy them.  
"Rum and coke?" Finn asked, grabbing a bottle of Captain Morgan and reaching for a lonesome shot glass. "Yeah, sounds good," Ben replied. He looked about the room to see if there was anyone else there he would recognize from the school. He hadn't attended classes in months but no doubt some of the classmates he remembered would eventually decide to show up and get hammered after a long pain-in-the-ass term. He also hoped, that if they were already here, they wouldn't approach him to talk until after he had talked with Finn. 

Delicious rum and coke in hand, Ben led Finn out onto the back deck that was not nearly as infested as the rest of the house with sloshed students and annoying yelling. There were a couple around the edges of the deck, having a smoke and talking in couplets but it was probably the most semi-private spot in the house where Finn could still leap into action if an incident occurred.  
"Alright Ben," Finn said in a distinguished tone Ben recognized as his tell me every little thing and don't leave anything out voice. He lingered as Finn lay his legs out straight, presumably to stretch them out. This was most likely the first time Finn had been able to sit all night. Parties were exhausting on the host.  
Ben took a long, deeply desired gulp of his drink and decided to just start with the grittiest factor that led to the break-up.  
"He fucked somebody else."  
"He fucking did what?" Finn's eyes flashed with anger and complete shock. He had been the one who introduced Hux to Ben three years ago and he had real comfort in seeing how the two seemed to really hit it off. This new piece of information struck him hard like lightning. But Finn knew it was only a fraction of what Ben must of felt then, and still now.  
"Okay..um. Well. That's pretty much all that needs to be said, eh?" Finn said, trying to smother the situation in a touch of awkward humor. He then nervously giggled. A common habit of Finn's. Ben blew air out of his mouth in a partial sigh and began to feel the rush of dread once more.  
"Believe it or not, there is a little more. This isn't anything about the aftermath, since you pretty much know the result. It's more about the build-up to the cheating." Finn shuffled a touch closer to Ben, but not so much to make Ben feel overwhelmed. Just enough to remind him that he was close by.  
"Hux had been making me feel so used... and useless at the same time. I don't know how that makes sense, but I constantly felt like I was never enough for him yet he never made any proclamations of it being true. It would be little things such as hints of hitting on someone else, or making comments about other men in public and how attractive he found them. He'd compare me to them. Say it would maybe be cuter if I lost a little weight, or plucked my eyebrows more. Just the smallest things to break down my self esteem more and more every day; chip by chip..." Ben began to breathe a little fast and brought his drink up to his lips to attempt to calm the rush of panic. It helped a bit, and he looked back to Finn who had the grimmest expression across his face.  
Finn had never wanted to hold Ben so hard in all the time they had known each other. He sneaked his arm around the taller man's shoulder and pulled him in so Ben could settle his breathing. Ben was grateful for this. He hadn't felt contact like this for weeks and it was so wonderful to get all of his feelings out to his friend. He was regretful that he had not told Finn of this sooner, but he had originally thought nothing on it. He was blind to the sneers and gross degradation Hux performed on Ben daily. He wondered if Hux even knew what he was doing. Or if what he had done was, to be frank, quite abusive.  
Ben pulled out of the slight embrace and sniffed at the thought. Well this is a GREAT start to the evening, he humored, taking another sip. "Mind if I get another?" Ben asked, shaking his cup as if it were nearing being empty. Finn nodded. "Is there more you want to talk about, man? If you wanna take a break for a while it's up to you. I know how it is." Ben knew Finn knew. Finn, while being a delightful human being did tend to fall in love too quickly and too passionately. And often ended up facing the hard reality of the relationship with much despair, and ultimately dealing with a break up.  
"Yeah, I think I'll make an attempt to mingle, maybe?" Ben said, unsure. No, really, he was very unsure. How did one exactly mingle? 'Get your rum first, ask those questions later', he thought.

After his third rum and coke of the evening, Ben decided to walk around the house and search for some of his old classmates. He had remembered seeing something on Facebook of Phasma showing up and Ben was pretty excited to see her again. She had been Ben's partner for every lab they ran and they got along like a house on fire. She was diligent and quite brilliant. She had also been a great story teller, Ben remembered. After making the rounds of the house and not immediately recognizing anyone of interest, he strode back into the kitchen to seek out any remaining munchies.  
As he entered the blue kitchen he then noticed someone he had not yet crossed paths with yet. It was a girl. She had the longest legs Ben had ever seen, and they were decorated with the strangest black and white tights; the pattern flowing up under her skirt down to her dark brown boots. Her chestnut hair was tied back into three mini buns; a hairstyle Ben had never really seen on anybody. She also wore a pretty little white sweater with sleeves that came up to her elbows, the extra fabric under her arms creating an almost wing sort of appearance. Ben also noticed that she was playing with the magnetic poetry scattered across the door of the fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is just me getting back into the game so I apologize for it being choppy or I lose track of things. It will get smoother as it goes on. I also have decided to set this in my hometown, Vancouver BC in Canada. There will be pieces of slang or references to the city and I will be sure to link images of these things/places so you can follow along.  
> Either way, please comment below and let me know what you think!


	2. Magnetic Poetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben lays eyes on Rey for the first time.

Ben hadn't realized he had been awkwardly standing there, peering at the girl constructing absurdity out of the magnetic tiles on Finn's fridge for several minutes. He didn't even feel the time tick away as he stared.

Then something clicked in his mind that she could at any second get the instinct to turn around and then what? He'd be even more of an idiot than he already felt. Clearing his throat, she then quickly turned around with a slightly surprised expression across her face. Ben had never seen eyes like these... Luminous, fierce hazel eyes that jabbed him right in the gut with confusion...on what to say.

  
"Uh, I, um, uh..." For some reason he was at a complete loss for words. He turned to his glass of rum and coke for answers.

  
"Shoot! I didn't see you there!" she chirped pleasantly. She took a step towards him and suddenly Ben felt the tightness around his chest and it was unbearable. He had no idea who this girl was and she in no way seemed like a threat but he felt like the pressure around him was building, pushing down on him as if the roof and walls were closing in.

And she was coming closer to him...

  
"You need to get in the fridge or something?" Ben blinked multiple times until he absorbed what she was saying. "Oh, no. I'm sorry. I just... I like those poetry things, too."

  
"Oh yeah?" she walked over and grabbed an empty cup off of the kitchen island, along with the piles of empty drink cups, liquor bottles and chip bags. "There's a lot of fun to be had with those. I've been enjoying all these little things around Finn's place," she then pointed to the line up of old robot wind-up toys Finn had displayed above his dishware cupboard. Finn was a hoarder but more in the way of toys and stupid little knick-knacks. Ben had never seen the appeal.

  
"Yeah I don't really know where Finn gets this stuff," Ben grumbled, taking a sip of his drink and trying not to let the creeping of a blush rise in his cheeks.

  
She was filling her cup with straight rum and not even pausing or holding back with how much she put in. Ben once again felt his eyes staying on her as she made a face of absolute delight. "You a heavy drinker, then?" Ben tried to make it sound like a joke but was then worried it came out as a jab. The girl blew air out of her mouth in laughter, looking at Ben through squinting eyes.

"Oh what this? This is nothing. I'm like Marion Ravenwood when it comes to this shit. Could probably drink you under the table." She tipped her cup to him with that statement and knocked some of her drink back, slightly slurping it down. Ben's mouth began to curve into a smirk at how strange this interaction was going.

  
"So," he said, stepping over to the fridge to look at her work. "Robots minds are precious. Work for sunshine goodness. Go home to the shadows and erotica. Feet taste good in the syrup." He turned back to look at her, she was still holding her drink and looking at him with humility in her smile. "That's it? Come on, these aren't nearly dirty enough. Amateur." He set his cup down and picked up the little magnetic cup of the tiles and picked around looking for the right ones.

"So how do you know Finn?" He thought he should at least get some sort of conversation going before she lost interest and joined the others in the living room.

  
"School mostly," she replied, her mouth back to her cup, it sounded like. "But I also work a few shifts with him at the toy store."

  
Ben turned around at that. He had no idea Finn had gotten a job. Then again, he had made it very easy to stay out of the loop with his friends lately. Not replying to texts that didn't relate to work, and he had been letting most phone calls go straight to voice mail. Social media was on haitus as well. He wasn't ready...

  
"Oh, that's cool. I didn't know Finn had a new job. He's mostly been so busy with school I didn't think he had the time." The girl picked up a chip from the bag on the counter and popped it into her mouth.

  
"Yeah, he's a sweetie. So how do you know Finn?"

  
"I've known Finn since highschool. We're best mates."

  
"Yet you didn't know he had a job..?" She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Don't sound like very good friends to me."

  
"That's... that's complicated." Ben bit his lip in a stressful manner. He was not in any way wanting to discuss the details of the last couple of weeks with this complete stranger.

This completely beautiful stranger...

  
"Well, if you ever want to talk about it let me know." She took a couple of steps towards him and the fridge. "Apparently I'm a good listener."

  
Ben continued to bite his lip at the space closing between them, still not 100% certain as to why it made him so nervous. Was it the lack of human contact he had experienced recently and the sudden possibility of it made his stomach clench? Or was it he was so intrigued by this strange woman that he had no idea how to carry a conversation with her. He was worried he could not pick it up. Especially after that proposition.

  
"Oooh you went crazy non-PG on these!" she exclaimed. "Massive sausage pounds into friend for hours. Beautiful breasts move up and down. She moans." She cocked her head to him, still giggling at the dirtiness. Ben smirked. Knowing how bad they were.

"Oh don't worry, I can do way worse than this but I think there's some missing."

  
"Oh well in that case, I'm glad. I wouldn't want to smear Finn's fridge with too much filth. I mean, I gotta draw the line somewhere."

  
"And you drew the line at sausage?"

  
"Of course!" She tilted her head back and laughed one of the greatest laughs Ben had ever heard. It was warm, and hearty. And ridiculously infectious. Her teeth were the brightest shade of white and she brought her hand to her mouth, unfortunately covering them. Ben returned his gaze to the liquor, not wanting to weird her out anymore with the continual gazes.

  
"Want me to make one for you, there?" She slipped behind him and snatched up the Captain Morgan and the cup in his hand. "Don't worry, I'll tone it down for you." Ben chuckled lightly, running his hand through his dark locks, feeling a light sweat beginning at his forehead.

"My name's Rey, by the way."

He brought his hand down to his pocket and stood there stiffly, taking in the new information, her name reverberating in his brain. Had they really not introduced themselves yet?

  
"I'm, uh, I'm Ben."

  
"Nice to meet you, Ben." With that she put his cup back in his hand with a freshly topped-up drink. She then picked hers up and leaned against the wall, biting her inner cheek and looked right into his eyes.

"You going to school or working right now?"

  
"Working and in school, but I'm only in part-time classes at the moment. I'm kind of still figuring out what to do with my life."

  
"Aaah, now that I can relate to. I'm in my second year and I'm still not sure this is what I wanna do with my life. But I also don't want to drop out because that would be way too much money down the drain. What are you in school for?"

  
"Political sciences. It was my mom's idea. I wanted to be a musician." This was small talk, but it didn't feel that way. It felt casual yet there was no coarseness. "I'm still deciding whether to go for my bachelor's or drop everything and move to the alps." Rey giggled at that.

  
"A musician? That's certainly fancy."

  
"Oh you know it," Ben replied. "I mostly just practice covers and I'm trying to write some stuff but I haven't had much energy for it lately."

  
"Is it because of that thing?" Rey eyed him carefully, her face bearing concern like earlier. Ben set his cup down and placed both hands on the kitchen counter behind him, exhaling sharply.

"I haven't been in the most social of moods this last little while; this is actually the first time I've left the house in weeks- well you know, aside for work and the odd class. Not in the mood much for social activities."

He brought his hands together with a clap and began picking at his finger nails, an old tic of his.

  
"Well I'm never in the mood for social activities so I, too, am not sure why I'm here. I guess something just told me I should go out tonight. I think it was more so the idea of free booze." She took a large gulp out of her cup and set it down on the table. "I know I don't seem like the anti-social type. But that's the joy of being an extroverted introvert."

Ben met her eyes and grinned. He had called himself the exact same thing on previous occasions. He had such trouble being in groups of people, but there were a lot of times he would find some enjoyment. He chiefly preferred and took pleasure in solitude.

  
He was not liking his current amount of solitude at home, however. Hux being around had given him a sense of routine that he had so comfortably grown accustomed to.

  
"Why haven't you been leaving the house? If you don't mind me prodding..." she held out a hand in fear of overstepping again. Ben sighed again and set his hands on his hips.

  
"I kind of...broke up with someone." Rey didn't say anything immediately, she just looked at him with sincere sympathy.

  
"I'm sorry," she murmured lightly, that sad stare digging deeper and deeper into him. He started to feel worse. He could almost feel a tear starting to swell in his eye, but with every nerve he kept it down.

  
"It's been tough," he replied. "But you know, things happen."

  
"What kind of things?"

  
"He cheated on me." He saw her face drop even more. Was it because she thought he was gay? Was it paining her to hear his tale of heartbreak? Could she relate?

  
"Fuck... I- I really am sorry," she assured, sweeping a bit of her chestnut hair behind her ear so beautifully it made Ben want to blurt out his sexuality to, in turn, assure her, at the hope of something else...

  
"Hey," he said, lifting his shoulders into a shrug, "what are you gonna do? I guess I just wish he had the ability to tell me his feelings before going behind my back."

  
"Honesty can be hard to come by. I know." She propped herself up from against the wall and strolled over again to the food, picking up the chips. "You wanna go somewhere?"

  
Ben blinked numerous times and turned his head to see into the adjoining living room where people were drinking and talking rather loudly. Many conversations overlapping, the thought of which created a headache for him. Being among that many people.

  
"Like where?" he asked, thoughts racing through his mind.

  
"Someplace where you don't seem as scared to talk. There are too many people around, I get it. But the patio should be a bit more empty. Come on if you want to."

  
She gave him a heartwarming smile and gestured for him to follow.

  
Ben pushed himself off from the kitchen counter and looked again at the magnetic poetry. Another short poem was hiding below all the others: "hearts break like watermelons on the sidewalk. People kick them into the black holes everywhere." Ben was suddenly aware that she was still waiting on him and he strolled over, thinking for a moment that she had made that poem in relation to something in her life... maybe her own love life?

Ben brushed the thought out of his mind, thinking it too much of a coincidence, or the liquor making him overthink and over-analyze.

If there was somehow a chance that this girl was going through exactly what he was then the universe was being way too kind on him. Too kind to deliver this exquisite person into his life at this time... and for her to emphasize with him so?

Ben held his breath at the thought, in no way knowing how to proceed should this discussion come about. He didn't have nearly enough courage to bring it up with her as she had with him. And he didn't want to assume because she asked him, he could ask her. He barely knew her for crying out loud... It sure seemed like she was trying to change that, though.

  
"Hey, you coming or what?" Rey poked her head around the corner, a blanket in her arm and a jacket slung over her shoulder. Ben suddenly wondered why she seemed so friendly with him in particular. Was it the sadness behind his eyes? Was it simply convenience, and if there had been anyone else in the kitchen would she have been this kind to them?

  
Ben wasn't used to this type of attention. It was overwhelming despite it being in such a small dose. After all the years of having few friends, and shitty relationships he was always wary meeting new people. Not to put too much of himself on display and to always stay as reserved as possible.

But this girl seemed to chip away at it like sandstone and made him open up more than anyone he could think of. It was unsettling how vulnerable she made him feel. How easy it was for him to discuss his personal life like it was a small story on the news. Maybe this was something he needed for the time being. Just to get it out in the open and maybe the pain of it would erode away with discussion of other subjects. She certainly seemed like a good enough person to do this with. He nodded and followed her out of the kitchen to the patio outside.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first fic on Ao3, although I do already have the beginnings of this fic on Wattpad.  
> This fic is inspired a lot by "What If" and by the song "No. 1 Party Anthem" by Arctic Monkeys.  
> I was just really liked the idea of these two meeting at a party and hitting it off right away. Of course things are going to get in the way, but not to fret. This is a pure Reylo slow-burn.  
> Also I have a tumblr: http://potion-approaching999.tumblr.com/  
> Thanks guys!


End file.
